Becoming What I Hate
by The Bizarre One
Summary: What if something you hated became something you loved? What would you feel, how do you think others would view you? Here, we discover how one dog acts in a situation like this. Warning, OCxCanon character
1. Welcome Wagon

**Disclaimer: I do not own Housepets!, that honor goes to Rick Griffin.**

It was late evening in Babylon Gardens. The sun was setting, and the entire neighborhood was bathed in a gold light. If one looked closely, they could see a silouhette of one of the neighboorhood dogs, running like his life depended on it. This dog in particular was around four foot nine inches, wore a green collar that matched his eyes, and had fur that was a light brown with darker shaded brown fur on his ears.

Bino Byron didn't know how long he had ran, or how he ended up in the park. All he knew was that the park bench looked really comfortable right now.

The green eyed canine slumped down onto the bench, panting exhaustedly. '_It's times like this I wish we could sweat_.' He thought to himself. He could see the sunset shining through the trees, but he wished he couldn't.

'_All that thing does is remind me of her_.' Thought Bino. Realizing it wasn't going away any time soon however, Bino simply stared at it with blank eyes. '_Where did it go wrong_?' He thought.

HIs chest rising sharply as he panted, Bino sighed, and began to recount the events of the past week to himself.

"...In conclusion, this is why I believe that a public fire hydrant must be put on the corner of 5th. Thank you." Bino smirked as he concluded another stellar speach '_Another one for the history books_.' He thought to himself, seemingly unaware of the slow, sarcastic applause coming from the audiance.

Bino stepped off the podium feeling on top of the world. Fido was out of town for the week, so it was up to him to lead this week's meeting of The Good Ol' Dog's club. The canine relished in it, taking the opportunity to write up a new speech for the occasion, and since this was Fido's week he'd get to do it again next week. He made a mental note to get to work on the next speech when he got home from his date with his girlfriend, Dutchess.

"Hey Bino!" Called out a high pitched voice that irritated the brown dog to no end. Turning around, he faced another brown dog, around his height with a red collar with a tag in the shape of a bone and pale blue eyes. Peanut Butter Sandwich, one of Bino's least favorite canines in the neighborhood.

Bino narrowed his eyes. "What do you want, cat lover?" Bino spat, distain clear in his voice.

Peanut's cheerful demeanor droped in an instant, and turned to one of perplexion. "How many times am I going to have to tell you about Tarot?" asked the red collared dog.

"And how many times am I going to have to tell you that I don't believe a word of it until I see her. Now what do you want?" Bino asked, his irritation growing by the second.

"Well, a new family just moved into the old house down the street," Exclaimed Peanut, seemingly forgetting the insult Bino had thrown at him only moments before "and they have a pet!"

Bino's interest in the conversation sky rocketed, his eyes lighting up in excitement. His face remained nutruel though.

"Peanut, are you absolutely sure it's a dog?" Bino asked with slight reprehenion, rembering what happened last time someone had came to him with this news.

"I saw him helping move boxes into the house, I'm sure of it!" Peanut stated with confidence.

Bino smirked. "Cat lover, record this because I'm only going to say this once." He stated bluntly, turning around and getting into a running position. "Thank you." With that, Bino took off, not bothering to wait for Peanut's response.

Bino was on cloud nine. He had led the club meeting, and now he was going to get to add a new member to it. _'I feel like I could sing!'_ Thought Bino to himself, soon realizing he really shouldn't. As the house came within sight, he got his first look at the new dog on the block. The first thing he noticed caused Bino to stop in his tracks and stare.

'_Oh my dog, he's huge_.' Bino thought with wide eyes.

Yes, this particular dog had about three inches on Bino's older brother. He wore a sky blue collar with a pencil shaped dog tag. His fur was a dark tan with light brown spots scattered across his fur and pale grey eyes. Currently, he hoisting three boxes in his arms as Bino approached him.

"Excuse me sir," Bino said smoothly, turning on his charisma which had gotten him many club members before him. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

The tall dog looked over his shoulder. "Sure thing, just get that last box and we'll walk and talk."

Bino nodded, and picked up the closest box to the door. He immediately hunched over and dropped the box on the ground, realizing how heavy it was.

"We're lucky nothing breakalbe was in that box." The tan dog said with a joking tone in his voice. "I'm Maxwell by the way, but feel free to call me Max."

"Bino." The green eyed dog said briefly, grunting as he lifted the box again.

"Nice to meet you Bino," Max said with a smile. "So, what brings you to our side of the neighborhood?" He asked.

"Well," Bino grunted, still struggling with his one box "Would you be interested in joining in a club for pets?"

"Exclusive to pets?" Max asked in amusement "I have never heard of such a concept. I like it."

"As long as you don't have fleas, you'll have no problems getting in." Bino said with a smirk. "You want to run this by your parents or do we have a deal?"

"My parents moved out here so we could be more social anyway." Max said, using his foot to open the front door to his house.

Bino quirked an eyebrow. "Did you just say 'we'?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Max asked, setting the box down "I have a sister."

Bino had to fight to keep the smile off his face. Two members in one day, thats something Fido could only do once in a blue moon. "Where is she, I want to meet her."

"Well I've heard of love at first sight, but you seem rather enthusiastic." Max snarked, chuckling at Bino's incredous expression. "I'm just messing with you. She's not very social so she's been staying out back for awhile. Stay here, I'll go get her."

As Max headed for the back yard, Bino looked around the house. The last time he had been in the house, the wall paper was peeling, the carpet was moth eaten and the whole house stank of rodents. The entire house had been refurbished from floor to ceiling, painted a florencet green, with a shaggy white carpet and plenty of decorative pieces such as pictures and statues.

"Gotta say, this place is pretty awesome looking." Bino mumbled to himself, impressed.

"Why thank you deary." Came a voice from behind him. Bino jumped and span around, coming to face with a woman probably in her thirties. She had bright red hair, wore a green tube top, blue jeans and sandles. She had hazle eyes and was absolutely beaming.

Clearing his throat, Bino started his introductory speil again. "Hello Ma'am my name is Bino, and I-" Bino was interupted by a lung crushing hug.

"Why hello Bino, my name is Nancy." Nancy said enthusiastically, letting Bino out of the hug soon after. "Why, if I had a nickel, I'd say your part of that little dog club we've heard so much about."

Bino raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I was one of the co-founders, how did you know?"

"Deary, we moved to this neighborhood because of that club." Nancy said with a smile. "Why, I just hope you let cats in to, I don't think Tina could stand to be left out like she was back home."

Bino beamed with pride. "Well ma'am, I assure you-" Bino stopped dead and his eyes widened as he replayed her statement in his head. "Could you repeat that?"

Nancy never got the chance to speak, as Max rounded the corner with an oddly feline tail behind him. "Alright Bino, meet- " He gestured to the side and noticed no one was there. Rolling his eyes in mock frustration, he stepped to the side, revealing a orange furred cat around Bino's size with a single brown spot over her right eye. Her dark blue eyes widened as she saw Bino, and soon glanced down at her feet in an embarassed fashion.

"Bino, meet my adopted sister Tina." Max said with a huge smile on his face.

It took all of Bino's self restraint to keep from screaming.

**Thats one down, who knows how many more to go. If you see some way I can improve my writing style, which I'm going to need because this is going to be kinda long, please let me know. I won't bite, I swear!**

**-Your new (soon to be ol') pal Passenger**


	2. Let's Make A Deal

**Replying to the comments**

**Guest: Oh come now, there must be something wrong here. I'm glad you're enjoying this though, and I hope you continue to read this.**

**Disclaimer: Rick Griffin owns Housepets!, but from what I understand he is in negotiations to sell it to Stephanie Meyer. Apparently their going to turn Peanut into a vampire.**

Silence reigned in the hallway. Bino had taken a backwards step towards the door, his eyes wide and his face displaying a look of horror. Max's grin hadn't faltered but if one looked into his eyes, they could see his nerves beginning to get the better of him and he was slightly trembling. Tina's eyes hadn't left the floor and a tuft of her fur had fallen over her face, concealing any emotion one could find from her. Nancy, of course, hadn't picked up on any hostility.

"Well, I'm sure you're all gonna be the best of friends," Nancy exclaimed cheerfully, heading for the door. "I'm just going to head down to the store to pick up some groceries. I'll be back in a few minuets."

"Okay Mom." Max said, his eyes never leaving the brown canine that stood before him.

As soon as Nancy walked out the door, Bino bluntly broke the ice. "Max, what the heck?! You told me you had a sister!"

"I never said it was biological," Max said with a smirk "and I do not like anyone putting words in my mouth."

"Still, a cat?" Bino growled, his frustration growing "what kind of dog are you?"

Tina, realizing what kind of dog Bino was, retreated to the backyard, a panicked look on her face. Max's face contorted into a face of rage for a split second, but soon returned to a neutral expression.

"Bino, could I speak with you upstairs?" Max said, the playful tone in his voice gone. He ascended the stairs before he got a response.

"As long as you don't have another 'sister' up there." Bino spat bitterly, following the tan dog.

Soon, Max had led Bino into a bedroom, presumably one for Max's parents. Sitting on a stool in the middle of the room was a stocky, balding man with a pair of glasses on over his blue-green eyes, strumming an acoustic guitar. He wore a purple shirt, khaki jeans, and a pair of sandals. His head jerked upwards when the two canines entered the room.

"Hey Max," said the man with a laid back voice "here for another song?"

"Not now Dad," Max said, "Think you could give me and my friend some privacy?"

"Sure thing kid," he said. Max's dad grabbed Bino's hand and shook it heartily. "The name's Stan by the way, if you ever need a musician let me know."

"Bino." The brown canine introduced himself curtly as Stan walked out the door. When Stan left, Bino turned to face Max, who had taken a seat on his dad's chair.

"Okay look," Bino began, disdain clear in his voice. "I don't know what sort of weird stuff you're into, and I can still get you in the club if you keep it on the down low, but if you think I'll let..._cat_ in, you're"

"Bino, does your club have a theme song?" Max interrupted, his face and voice remaining calm.

A small firework went off in Bino's head, but his face remained neutral. "What are you talking about?" He asked.

Max leaned forward slightly, his paws pointing at Bino as he spoke. "Look, I know you don't want anything to do with Tina, but I'm willing to make a deal-I write your club a theme song, you let Tina in the club. That simple."

Bino, while ecstatic about the idea, was skeptical. "You actually know how to WRITE music?" He asked incredulously.

"Did you see my dad earlier?" Max said, a playful tone returning to his voice "The man is a music guru, and he taught me everything he knows."

Bino narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. "Show me something you wrote." He said.

Max's face took on a nervous expression for a split second before returning to a calm face. "Sure thing." He said with a smirk, as he stood up and moved towards a desk in the corner of the room. He started shuffling through several pieces of paper, some with sketches and words, some without. Bino stood over his shoulder, waiting patiently. Soon, Max lifted a fake potted plant, revealing a small key.

"Ah, here it is." Max said, bringing the key to a small hole on the desk. "My dad is protective of his work, and mine for that matter." He said as he twisted the key in that lock. Instead of a drawer however, the top of the desk flipped open, tossing the many papers to the floor and revealing a mess of papers underneath.

Max shuffled through the papers for a few seconds, before coming across a slightly older piece of paper with ratty edges. "I haven't written anything in a while, but I still think I have that talent." Max said, handing the paper to Bino.

Bino snatched the paper out of Max's hand and began skimming over the words. He soon slowed down, wanting to savour the words before him. "This is...Good. Really good." Bino said, unable to hide his thoughts on the song."

"Now, I'll join your club either way," Max said, realizing he had control of the situation "but if you want something penned by yours truly, you're gonna have to let Tina in to. I hold all the cards here good sir."

Bino sighed in frustration, scratching the back of his head. On one hand, a cat in The Good Ol' Dog's Club would cause pure chaos. On the other, no one had even offered to write an anthem for the club before, and from what he had just read, this was the guy to do it...

"Fine," Bino grunted, extending his paw. "You win. She can be in the club."

Max however, did not grab Bino's paw. "Actually...I think I have another stipulation. See, Tina is not the social type, as I'm sure you've gathered, and I want you to be her friend and introduce her to everyone in the neighborhood."

Bino's paw went down immediately, his expression becoming incredulous. "What?! You can keep your theme song if you think I'm doing that!" He hollered, stomping towards the door.

Keeping his cool, Max spoke again. "It's not just the theme song you'll lose if you don't do this you know," Max said "you walk out that door, you can forget about me joining that club, as I'll be to busy trying to get Tina to socialize with everyone to bother with it."

Bino froze. Sure he had kicked dogs out of the club before, heck he did it to Peanut on a bi-weekly basis. But to have a dog in Babylon Gardens NOT in The Good Ol' Dogs Club...It was unimaginable. He growled again.

"Where is she now?" He asked begrudgingly, not facing the grey eyed canine behind him.

"In the backyard, probably on the bench swing." Max said. Bino sighed and headed downstairs. As he stepped on the first step however, Max called out.

"BINO!" He called, and winced as Bino stumbled down thirteen (thankfully carpeted) stairs, landing face first.

"A little to much gun powder..." Bino mumbled incoherently.

"Sorry about that Bino"," Max said apologetically "but I'd rather not have Tina know that I'm basically bribing you to be her friend. You seem like a good actor, so just don't let her know."

"I thought that was obvious." Bino grumbled, heading towards the backyard as he was clutching his head.

As Bino walked towards the back door, Max glanced down at the small key he had brought down from the bedroom. "Thank dog that worked..." he mumbled to himself, as he headed back upstairs.

The first thing Bino noticed as he stepped out into the backyard was that it was facing directly towards the sun. He shielded his eyes as the afternoon sun shone down on him, squinting as he looked at the swing in front of him. In it sat the orange cat he was looking for, who had turned around when the door opened. Tina's eyes widened and stared at him in fear.

"Alright, look," Bino said, having to strain to keep any malice out of his voice. "I'm sorry for how I acted earlier, I just assumed when he said sister he meant a dog. I just want to talk."

Silence reigned once again as the dog and cat stared each other down. After what seemed like forever, Tina nodded and patted the spot on the swing beside her. Bino sat down after some hesitation.

Bino decided to take a better look at what he was dealing with, as he hadn't bothered to really look at her in the hallway. She had a few other, smaller brown spots on her back around the same shape as the one around her eye. She was about an inch shorter than him and had a small tuft of orange fur that covered her left eye.

"So..." Bino began, trying to strike up a conversation "how do you like Babylon Gardens so far?"

They entered another awkward silence as Bino waited for her response, which seemed to take forever. "It has a good view of the sunset." Tina said quietly after a long pause.

Bino had never noticed it before, but yes, the view of the sunset from here. There were no trees in the way to block the bright orange light of the sun, and the view of it was spectacular.

'_This would be kind of romantic if I wasn't with a cat.' _Bino noted to himself. "Yeah, it is nice, but theirs a lot more to Babylon Gardens than that. I can give you a little tour if you want." Bino said, instantly regretting his statement.

Tina pulled her knees up to her chest, rocking herself back and forth. "I'd like that." She said after another pause.

_'Max, I'm going to kill you.'_ Bino thought disdainfully, though none of it showed on his face, which was beaming friendliness. "Sure, I know this place better than anyone. We can go now if you want."

"Sure." Tina said, standing up and heading towards the door. "Max, do you want to come." She called out, seemingly to thin air.

Bino stared at her incredously, but soon dropped that face as Max emerged from a bush near by. "But...how..."

"I have my ways." Max said simply. "Anyway, I still have a few boxes left to unpack, so you two go ahead and I'll catch up."

Tina nodded and headed towards the front door, Bino catching up with her soon after. As they stepped out the door, Bino almost bolted towards home, but something held him back. He knew the theme song was tempting, and not having Max in the club didn't seem like an option to him, but there was something else. He chalked it up to being to into character, and soon began leading Tina around.

**Told you it was long XD hopefully it was worth the read. If you enjoyed, leave a review and tell me how I can improve, and I promise I'll respond to it whenever I get the next chapter up...Which may take some time, since my family is taking me on vacation for the week, so please be patient.**

**-You're friendly neighborhood weirdo, Biz.**


	3. Tour Goes Awry

**UGH, THIS SHOULDN'T HAVE TAKEN THIS LONG TO WRITE, AM SO SORRY D:**

**Dr. Whiskers: Glad you're enjoying yourself with this one. Fun fact though, I actually forgot about Max the Cat when I came up with Max the dog's name. But, I have said it so I have to run with it.**

**Anyway, enough of my yammering on, time for the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Housepets! belongs to Griffin, Rick. Not me Bizarre One, The**

The tour had lasted far into the evening, and it had surprisingly gone off without a hitch. Bino had taken Tina by all the houses of the dogs and very few cats he knew and tried to describe them as briefly as possible. This wasn't because he couldn't give a detailed explanation on every pet in the neighborhood, but rather he did not want to be seen with a cat of all things.

Tina absorbed all the information without saying a word. At first Bino thought she didn't find it interesting, but after every house she looked at him and nodded. It took him a few houses to catch on, but soon he figured that she was just comitting all of it to memory, and talking would only disrupt that memorization.

The tour was drawing to a close. The only house left to stop at was Bino's own house, which the brown dag had considered leaving out at first, but figured it would raise suspicion in Tina's mind if he didn't show it to her. _'...And I don't want to jeoperdize my deal with Max.'_ he thought.

However, on the way to his house, Bino's worse case scenario came to be. Just across the street from him and Tina were a circle of Bino's dog friends. Fox, Rex, Sasha, even Joey and his friend Lester were among them today. _'Oh dog don't look, don't look, don't look...'_ Bino thought desperately, but it was all for naught, as one by one their eyes drifted over to Bino's location, all having a different reaction.

All Fox could do was quirk an eyebrow at the sight, smirking in a mocking fashion at the ironic situation before him. Rex had a blank expression on his face, though his eyes told a story of surprise. Joey had the most calm face of the bunch, simply giving a genuine smile and a nod. Lester, however, was the polar opposite, the fur on the back of his neck standing up and his upper lip curling upwards as he gnashed his teeth. Sasha was already halfway across the street, looking eager to meet the newcomer.

"Hi there!" Sasha said, grabbing Tina's paw and shaking it up and down rapidly "I'm Sasha, who are you?"

Tina said nothing for a moment, being surprised by Sasha's sudden introduction. "Er...I'm T-tina, nice to meet you." The cat stuttered. As if those words had opened a flood gate, the other dogs made their way across the street, although towards Bino instead of Tina.

"Er, boss," Rex began, eyes wide and confusion evident in his voice. "Does this mean you're gonna let cats into our club?" Bino stayed silent, being afraid to hurt Tina's feelings if he said no. _'For the sake of the deal of course...' _He corrected himself quickly. Before he could form a coherant sentence, Fox slapped him on the back.

"Well well well," Fox said in a teasing tone, a smirk plastered across his face. "I suppose it was only a matter of time, you living with a cat and all. I guess we'll call you Bino the cat guru from now on."

"You and I both know that title belongs to Peanut." Bino hissed, straining to not raise his voice. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Tina didn't hear anything, and a relieved look washed over his face as he saw Sasha and the cat lost in their own conversation. However, the look was not lost on Joey.

"I think it's great," The youngest Byron said, looking very upbeat about all this. "I mean, why not befriend-"

"You CANNOT be serious," The once silent Lester said, catching the attention of all in the near vacinity. To Bino's relief, it was only him, the other dogs and Tina.

"I mean, for the love of dog, she's a cat!" Lester exclaimed, beginning to make her way towards Tina, much to Bino's chagrin. "Nature inteded for us to be rivals, natural enemies, and now you're fratenising with them?!"

"It's not that uncommon..." Tina squeaked out, feeling intimidated by the brown dog before her.

"Yeah, if our parents force us to live together," Lester said, now stepping into Tina's personal space. The orange cat wisely began to backpedal. "but you...You're fratenizing with someone I doubt you even knew before today, and I know I didn't see the Byrons adopt anyone."

"That's enough Lester," Bino siad, trying to pull back his brother's friend. "she gets the point."

Lester responded by shoving Bino to the ground, the hairs on his neck standing up high. "Don't even get me started on you, you cat-" Lester stopped himself, simply grimacing and turning his attention back towards Tina. "Now listen here you _cat_, I don't want to see you, or your flea bitten hide-"

Lester was stopped by a loud growling coming from behind the group. Slowly, everyone turned around to see Maxwell, his shoulders hunched up and a look of pure anger on his face. "Now...What were you saying about my sister?" He asked, his calm voice not matching his enraged outsterior.

Now, Lester was not the smartest dog on the block. One could argue he was in the bottom percentage of intelligence in Babylon Gardens. But he knew this newcomer was over half a foot taller than him, had some of the sharpest teeth he'd ever seen, and he was angry at him. Needless to say, he was terrified.

Bino, sensing that it was about to hit the fan, sprang to his feet and quickly gathered up all the dogs around him not named Max. "I am so sorry about this Max," Bino said, surprised by how sincere he sounded. "I'll just talk to them right quick."

"Hold it Bino," Max said, looking between Tina, who was almost in tears by this point, and Bino, who's face exhibited fear. He had calmed down somewhat, but his face still held a grimace. "Leave the dog with the pink collar here...I want to talk to her personally."

Bino nodded, and before Sasha or anyone else could react, she was shoved towards Max and left behind by the others. Sasha looked up at Max, a rare look of worry on her face as the new canine stared her down. Suddenly, Max's face softened into a light smile and he extended his paw to her. "I'm Maxwell, but you can call me Max."

Needless to say, Sasha was confused.

Bino had pushed the other dogs back behind a nearby house, and soon after they had stopped he was bombarded with questions.

"Who is that dog?" Asked Joey.

"Why were you hanging out with a cat?" Asked Rex.

"How can you betray your dog brothers like that?!" Asked Lester

"Are you sure Sasha is okay?" Asked Fox.

"Everyone, shut up!" Bino said, quieting the dogs around him. "I'll answer your questions all at once, but first..." Without warning, Bino picked up Lester by his yellow collar and shoved him up against the wall of the house. "I swear to dog, if you ever even begin to call me...that again, I will end you. Got that?" Bino said, his rage rivaling Max's own moments ago. Wide eyed and startled, all Lester could do was nod.

With that, Bino put down the frightened dog and explained everything-the new neighbors, the surprise reveal, the deal, and the neighbors themselves. By the end of it all, most of the question had been answered, but Lester still wasn't satisfied.

"You mean to tell me that you'd subject yourself to hanging out with some hairball hacking feline for a bunch of rhymes?" Lester asked incredulously.

"Lester, let me drill this into to your head." Bino said, looking the brown dog dead in the eye. "It. Is. Our. Own. Theme. Song. It'll be a landmark in our club's history!"

"But-" Lester began to protest.

"No buts. This is happening if you want it or not." Bino said, trying to establish his authority as top dog.

"And what about the whole thing about letting her in the club?" Rex asked, scratching the back of his head.

"Look," Bino said, clearly fed up with the questions "if I don't, Max said he won't come anywhere near the club. I know I kick Peanut out almost daily, but the thought of a dog living in the neighborhood and not being afiliated with the club makes me sick to my stomach."

"I hate to break up anything," Said Fox, worry evident in his voice "but am I the only one concerned that we left Sasha with an angry dog with something against us?"

Silence fell for a moment among the dogs. Without saying a word, they all bolted towards where they had left only moments ago. When they arrived, they were greeted by a sight they did not expect- Max, Sasha and Tina, sitting in a circle, all smiling and laughing.

"...And so the monkey said to the rabbi-" Max stopped himself when he saw the others approaching

"Ah, there you all are." He said, standing up. He turned around and faced Sasha. "It was a pleasure meeting you, but we must be going."

"Okay Max, I can't wait to talk to you and Tina again!" Sasha said, before running down the streets.

"She was nice." Tina said meekly, a myrthful smile plastered on her face. Fox cleared his throat, getting the attention of the orange cat.

"Listen," Fox began as he rubbed the back of his head "sorry for how we acted earlier." Tina meerly blinked in confusion.

"Why are you the one apologizing?" Max asked, and eyebrow quirked "The only one who really should is that one with the yellow collar."

"Yeah yeah, the day you get an apology from me is the day you shove a six foot tree branch up your-" Lester mumbled, before getting slapped on the back of the head by Fox.

"Be that as it may," Fox said, raising his voice in hope no one other than him heard that "we really should've have stopped him instead of just standing there."

After a brief silence, Tina simply nodded with a small smile on her face. "It's okay, I'm not to mad."

An audible sigh of relief came from the group of dogs before Fox spoke up again. "We'll be on our way then, I think Bino has a tour to finish."

"Hey wait-" Bino called to them, trying to get atleast one of them to stay. It was too late however, and before he knew it they had all gone their seperate ways.

"Well," Max said, a toothy grin on his face "that was fun. I think I'll join you two for the rest of the tour, see if anything like that happens again."

"Hate to break it to you Max," Bino said, his voice having no tones of remorse in it "but we've only got one more stop on this tour, then it's over."

"Then lead the way, glorious leader." Max said, with Tina nodding in agreement.

After a little bit more walking, the group came upon Bino's home propper. With the sun setting in the distance, Bino announced the end of the tour and bluntly told them to go home.

"Tina, you go on ahead." Max said to his 'sister' "I want to talk to Bino a little."

"Okay Max..." Said Tina, sounding a little disapointed. "I'll see you tomorrow Bino." With that, she turned tail and headed in the direction of her home. As soon as she was out of sight, Max turned around to face Bino.

"Listen Max," Bino said, putting his hands up in defense "I didn't know we were going to run into them, please don't go back on our deal. Please?"

The tan dog's face was stoic for a moment, before he burst into laughter. "Man you're a paranoid dog. I just wanted to know when the next Good Ol' Dog's Club meeting was."

"Oh, right." Bino said sheepishly "We have a meeting once a week, and we...just had one today." Bino finished, his eyes widening when he remembered their deal.

"I see," Max said with a grin "So six more days, right? I'll bring Tina over tomorrow for more fun and start working on that song tonight. See ya!" Before Bino had a chance to respond, Max was already dashing down the street after Tina.

Bino stood in a catonic state for a moment or two, before heading inside his home. He then began to bang his head against the wall. '_Ugh, I never should've made that deal. I'm not sure if I can handle six more days of this...'__  
_

"I'm not sure what that wall did to you," Said a voice behind him "but I don't think that doing that to it is hurting it as much as it is hurting you."

Bino groaned as he recognized the voice behind him. Turning around, he came face to face with a dog with a similar fur pattern to him, but much taller. He had an orange collar and a pair of bifocals perched upon his nose. Bino's older brother, Fido.

"I thought you weren't supposed to be home until tomorrow morning." Bino said bluntly.

"I got done with everything sooner than I thought I would," Fido stated matter of factly "so dad came to get me early."

Before the brother's conversation could continue, the phone rang, getting the attention of everyone in the house. Max, Bino's black cat 'brother' answered.

"Hello...Uh huh...Okay, hold on a second." Max said, beforing holding the phone out to Bino. "It's for you."

Bino rushed over to the phone, so much so he didn't notice his younger brother, Joey, come out in front of him. Both dogs were soon on the floor.

"Sorry Joey," Bino said, no hints of apologeticness in his voice "I didn't see you there."

"I'm used to it." Joey said blankly before going on his way. Bino had expected something along the lines of 'Watch out next time' or 'Yeah, I didn't see you either', but seeing as he was needed on the phone he paid it no mind.

"I swear to dog, if that's Max with another stipulation to our deal..." Bino mumbled.

"We had a deal?" Max the black cat asked in confusion.

"Not you," Bino began before cutting himself off "I'll explain in the morning." Bino then put the phone to his ear.

"Byron residence." Bino said, answering the phone. His face pailed as a screaming female voice became audible to everyone in the room. "Oh dog-I-please don't...Tomorrow for sure, I promise! Two o'clock, see you then." Bino hung up the phone and slunk to the floor.

"Something wrong?" Fido asked in curiousity.

"That was Dutchess." Bino said, his voice uncharactistically wobbly "I forgot our date."

"Ouch," Fido said, a grimace coming upon his face "Do you wanna tell me why or-?"

"You know what?" Bino said, jumping up from the floor "I've had a long day, I'm going to bed." Without waiting for his brother's response, Bino made his way upstairs.

Bino sighed as he got under the covers of his doggie bed. Between having to let a cat into the club, the whole episode with Lester, and forgetting his date with Dutchess, this had not been a good day. He closed his eyes and hoped to dream something, anything, to cheer him up after this awful day.

**Alright folks, here how it's going down for a little while: I still want to finish this, but I've lost the inspiration that I had when I first published this. So here's my idea-I'm going to do other stories alongside this one, like do one chapter of something else then a chapter of this. I hope this will keep me from outright abandoning this while at the same time getting more of my ideas on this site. I hope my faithful followers (both of you) are okay with this, and will continue to be patient with this story and my other works.**

**-Sleepless in the South, Biz.**


	4. The Next Morning

**Here we go again my lovelies, chapter four is up and running. First thing on the list is replying to comments, if any.**

**Dr. Whiskers: Well. That explains a lot. I find it funny around the same time when I change my name, you change yours as well (though seriously, Dr. Whiskers Guest as far as names go). Happy to see you're enjoying the story still.**

**The Mech: Saying everything portrayed here is something you can see happening in the comic is a huge compliment to me, so thank you. And yeah, grammar is something I knew I was going to struggle with when I started this up, mostly because the word document I use is one of the few that doesn't actually have a spell check. I usually just use 's, but I was in a rush to upload that last chapter. I'll make sure I don't forget again, and thanks for liking this so much.**

**Disclaimer: I put the ownership to Housepets! on my Christmas list last year. All I got was a rock, so it still belongs to Rick Griffin**

_When Bino awoke, he was surrounded by amber waves of grain. It took him a minuet to get his bearings and immediately he began to wonder where he was. _

_Then it hit him. It was the dream again. _

_He smirked as he began to trudge through the grain, hoping he was going the right direction. Then again, it was his dream, so if he was going the wrong way he could simply will it to be where he was going._

_Soon he emerged in a clearing, with what he was looking for in the center. Sitting on a pedestal was a female black dog, with brown fur on her snout, stomach, and around her eyes._

_That was his girlfriend, Duchess. The most beautiful dog in the world._

_He ran to her with vigor, and she daintily dropped herself down from the pedestal, clutching something her paw. His grin grew wider at the thought of what came next._

_When they were close to each other, they embraced briefly before separating, and then Duchess unfolded what she was holding and allowed it to dangle. _

_It was a leash. A long, red leash, that was put on Bino's collar._

_Bino's grin took on Cheshire like qualities, and he sat like normal dogs did, his tail wagging fiercely. For that, he got scratched behind the ear by Duchess, and her mouth began to open. Bino's tail picked up speed as her melodious beeping voice graced his ears._

_Wait...Beeping?_

Bino groaned as he was brought out of his dream by the alarm clock. It read ten a.m, the usual wake up time for the Byron family, though it usually took him another thirty minuets for him to wake up. Just as well, that's around how much time it took for his parents to cook breakfast.

Soon, the middle child of the Byron family made his way to the kitchen, where he found the rest of his family at the table waiting for him. Fido and Max were leaning back in their chairs, the black cat with his feet propped up on the table, and Joey was completely zoned in on his breakfast. Bino couldn't help but notice Joey's mouse 'girlfriend' Squeak perched on his shoulder.

_'Dog, even thinking about that makes me want to vomit' _Bino thought as he sat down in his chair and faced his dog bowl. "Morning." he mumbled as he dug into his breakfast.

"Took you long enough to join us." Max snarked, gesturing to his empty food bowl.

"The bed was particularly warm this morning." Bino retorted, his eyes not leaving his food.

"I heard your bed springs creaking last night," Fido commented "you have a dream last night?"

"A dang good one," Bino said, a dreamy smile on his face "the love of my life, wide open spaces, and above all else, no cats."

At this point, Max cleared his throat in annoyance.

"While I don't like you in particular," Bino said, returning his focus to his breakfast "I'd like to make it clear that it was a romantic dream, and you know how I feel about a dog and a cat dating. It's just not natural." He finished, slamming his paw on the table.

It was at this point Fido began coughing. "Sorry," he stated shakily "water went down the wrong pipe. Anyway, I've got to go, K9 police business and all." With that, he grabbed his bullet proof vest, pausing briefly at the door to allow an unseen Spo to hop on his arm, and headed out.

The rest of the breakfast went by in silence, Max heading to the living room to relax. Soon after, the door bell rang. "Your turn Max." Bino called out from the kitchen. Max simply groaned before the sound of a door opening was heard. The conversation could be overheard in the kitchen.

"Sorry," Max said "you must have the wrong address."

"I think not my black cat friend," Came a familiar male voice that made Bino's eyes widen "we're looking for a Bino Byron, he showed myself and my adopted sister here this place yesterday."

"Okay," Max said with a sarcastic chuckle "clearly you have the wrong Bino. I mean no offense to your sister, but the day he that dog walks around with a cat in public is the day he-"

_'It is way to early for this' _Bino thought to himself as he made his way to the door. Sure enough, Max and Tina were standing there with a look of annoyance on the dog's face, and a look of nervousness on the cat's.

"Good morning," Bino said, going back into his acting mode and interrupting Max in the middle of his speech. He made his way down to his 'best friend' for the week "I wasn't expecting you so soon. Max, I'd like for you to meet our new neighbors."

"Hi there," Came a meek voice from behind the tan dog at the door. "I'm Tina."

"Huh," the black cat said, confusion evident in his voice "sorry about before, just wasn't...nevermind." Max shook his head and extended his paw to the dog at the door. The tan dog did the same.

"Hi, I'm Max." They both said. An awkward silence filled the room.

"This is going to get very confusing very fast." Muttered the black cat.

"Well, I suppose I might as well invite you inside." Bino said, gesturing inwards. Max and Tina entered quickly, Tina joining Bino at his side and the two Maxes walking beside each other.

"Again, sorry about earlier," The black cat said, rubbing the back of his head "I just thought you had the wrong address. How do you know them anyway Bino?"

"I was their welcome wagon yesterday, and now I'm their tour guide through town." Bino explained briskly, leading them into the kitchen, causing Joey to glance up from his meal. "Max, Tina, I'd like for you to meet my younger brother Joey and Squeak, his girlfriend."

"Hello to you." Joey said, nodding to the two newcomers. Bino jumped slightly when he felt a tap on his shoulder, turning around to see Tina looking him dead in the eyes.

"Um, Bino," the orange cat began meekly "if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to speak with you in private."

"I guess that's okay," Bino said, desperately trying to disguise the annoyance in his voice "if it's okay with your brother that is.

"Go right ahead," the tan dog said, taking a seat at the table "I think I'll stay here and get acquainted with your brother, and try to figure out how I'm going to distinguish myself from your feline friend over here."

"Suits me." Said the black cat, taking the seat opposite of him. With that, Tina led Bino up the stairs, but not before Bino could mouth 'Explain everything to Max' to her older brother, to which the tan dog nodded.

Once they reached the top of the stairs, Bino began the conversation.

"Sorry about the lack of people to meet," He said, breaking the ice "my parents usually have to leave early for work, and my older brother up and left right before you came.

Tina nodded in response. "It's okay," she explained "I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to show me everything about the neighborhood."

Bino could not suppress a prideful grin. "Ah, don't worry about it," he said "I don't do it for just anybody, but lets just say you and your brother got my attention."

"Oh?" Tina said in confusion "It's not because we're a cat and dog living together, right?"

"Oh no," Bino said, raising his paws in defense "really, another pair of dog and cat siblings live right down the road and I don't treat them half as nice." Bino clamped a paw over his mouth at that, realizing what he had just said.

"Really?" Tina said, with the most excitement Bino had heard out of her since she had been here. "Bino, can we meet them, please?"

Bino sighed, knowing that it would be hard to explain himself if he just showed up at the Sandwich's door unannounced, especially with a cat. But he looked at the orange cat in front of him, and at that moment he could safely say a newborn pup didn't have anything on Tina's pleading stare.

"I suppose we could." Bino said, trying to disguise the trepidation is his voice. At that moment, Bino had to suppress a scream for the second time in two days as Tina propped herself up on her toes and pecked him on the cheek.

"Thanks Bino." She said before making her way downstairs with a slight spring in her step. As soon as he was out of her sight, he vigorously rubbed the cheek where he had just been kissed. He stayed upstairs for a few more moments to compose herself, making a mental note to confront Max about this later, and made his way downstairs.

"...So how about this," Max said at the diner table "I go by MaxC and you go by MaxD?"

"Are they silent?" The other Max said

"Of course not, it would be the only way to not get us confused when one of us is called on."

"Seriously? Maxduh? It sounds idiotic." the tan dog stated, folding his arms.

"There's no pleasing you is there?" The black cat said before he noticed Bino had rejoined them. "Hey dude, little help?"

"No time Maxcuh," Bino said in a mocking voice. "I'm going to take Maxduh and Tina to meet a few more neighbors."

"See, it does sound stupid," Max said "anyway, I'll stay behind and try to figure out something with our new feline friend, and try to squeeze in some bonding with your brother."

Bino nodded and led Tina out the door. Needless to say, the brown dog was not looking forward to this. As if it wasn't bad enough having to go see a catlover and a cat who was well-known for despising him, he had to do it with a cat of all things. Sighing to himself, he began his trek down the road towards the Sandwich residence, Tina in tow.

**That's it for Chapter 4, hope you enjoyed it. Personally, I wish more had happened, but for what it's worth it did advance a plot line here and there. As always, leave a review if you see something I can improve upon tell me in a review and if you like it make sure to favorite and follow. Keep watching this page for my next one shot as well, I hope to have it out sometime next week.**

**-slowly but surely growing a following, Biz**


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